"We have a lot of talented athletes, including three girls who can touch (9 feet, 6 inches) or higher in Amanda, Rae-Kelly and Gina," Pham said. "Our goal is to become a team that works well together because we've got a lot of good individual talent."

Pham believes the Greyhounds have the potential to win the OCC-Ohio Division title and a Division I district championship this season.

Last year, Grove City finished 18-7 overall, tied for third in the league and reached a district semifinal before losing to third-seeded Westerville Central 26-24, 25-14, 24-26, 23-25, 15-11.

"There's been a big turnover in coaching in the OCC-Ohio this year, so it's hard to say if there's a favorite," Pham said. "Pickerington North, Gahanna, Newark and Groveport all have new coaches, so only time will tell what direction they are heading in. I think just off talent alone we can compete for league and district titles. The key is getting our girls playing together as one team."

Comets get outto strong start

It didn't take long for Central Crossing to surpass its win total from last season.

The Comets, who finished 4-19 overall a year ago, were 7-0 entering their OCC-Central opener Aug. 27 against Olentangy Liberty.

"We have been able to get off to a good start and surpass last year's season win total, which we are all really excited about," coach Julie Evans said. "Now we have the opportunity to build off of this good start and continue to improve as a group as we head into league play."

Last season, Central Crossing went 1-3 in the OCC-Central to finish eighth and lost to Lancaster 25-21, 25-18, 25-16 in the first round of the Division I district tournament.

"Our goal for the OCC is to be able to compete with the top teams in the upper half of our division, and we would like to put ourselves in position for the postseason to make a run to the district (semifinals)," Evans said.

The Comets have returned four players who started multiple matches last season in seniors Erin Scott (defensive specialist), Rose LeVally (middle hitter), Hunter Taylor (outside hitter) and Kelsie Rivers (outside hitter).

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